WWT Martin Mere welcomes pink-footed goslings for first time in 13 years
WT Martin Mere, based in West Lancashire, has seen the first successful breeding of their pink-footed geese in 13 years, welcoming two goslings into the centre's living collection.
The two goslings are around one month old now and currently with the female parent near the wooded wetlands area.
In the wild, pink-footed geese don’t breed in the UK and instead go back to their breeding grounds in Iceland, Greenland and Spitsbergen.
The species is iconic to WWT Martin Mere, and one of the reasons it is what it is today.
In the late 1950s, Sir Peter Scott, Founder of WWT, went on an annual ringing expedition in Iceland to ring and record pink-footed geese, which take care of their young there in the summer. He invited Ronnie Barker, who he first met in Slimbridge in 1952, on these expeditions.
On them, he discussed his vision of creating a large wild area alongside a collection of captive birds and an education centre in the North West of England.
Ronnie Barker knew that many pink-footed geese roosted in the Martin Mere area during the winter months, so highlighted it as a possible option for Peter Scott's vision. Now, every winter, WWT Martin Mere welcomes thousands of wild pink-footed geese as they spend the colder months with us, and it is the centre's best-known wildlife spectacle.
If you haven’t had chance to see pink-footed geese up close, the living collection is a great opportunity to see them all year round. And now, you can also see the adorable goslings with them too. WWT Martin Mere is open every day from 9:30am until 6pm, plan your visit here.
